This invention relates to winches and other devices useful in moving loads utilizing a cable.
The desire has existed since prehistoric times to transport objects heavier and more unwieldy than an individual can lift and carry. Efforts to answer this need also predate recorded history and were integral to the development of the earliest basic machines and tools, including levers, wheels, skids, rollers and utilization of animal power. While ancient humankind managed the movement of extraordinarily heavy objects, as demonstrated by the existence, for instance, of the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge, dramatic advances in this technology awaited development of combustion-based power sources, including steam and other external combustion engines and internal combustion engines. Later still, electrical motors came to the assistance of those interested in moving heavy objects.
A need persists, however, for a light weight, easily transported winch usable in locations remote from conventional power sources and vehicles, to move relatively heavy loads over relatively substantial distances, preferably with a single operator. Such a need exists, for instance, to retrieve large game from remote areas, in connection with rescue work, and in utilities installation and building construction. Numerous efforts have been undertaken to meet this need. For instance, one prior device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,340, marries a chain saw engine to a winch mechanism. However, these efforts have not resulted in a device that is easily transported, accommodates substantial cable length, is safely operable by a single individual and exhibits other desirable features of the present invention.